Tobame's Struggle
by Markino
Summary: PokeStones of the Dead, 12 years on. The Champion of Kanto has become a national hero-but Tobame has fallen through the cracks in his system and is turning increasingly resentful. Will this drive him to madness? Pokemon knowledge unneeded. Reviews wanted.
1. Twelve Years On

Pokemon Fanfic Chapter One

Tobame's Struggle – Chapter One

The double doors slid open as he approached the building, ready to start another day at work. Tobame was in his early thirties, a common clerical worker at Silph Co, and had spent his childhood under the old regime, before the Champion's restoration. Which meant that his childhood was spent stoning at home, with forays into the world of Pokemon forbidden. With no school to teach him other things as replacement like literature and economics, it unfortunately meant that the extent of Tobame's job opportunities came in the form of unskilled work and desk jobs. His pay was, as expected, meagre, and he was struggling to make ends meet at home. Naturally, he did not have the finances to support anyone other than himself, causing the loss of his dear parents to illness when they were barely sixty. Since the Champion's restoration, life expectancy had been rising, until it stood now at seventy-eight. Eighteen years lost with the parents who had brought him up as well as they could have under the conditions.

Sighing, Tobame entered the lift of the building, which had recently added a new wing to accommodate the flood of new arrivals coming straight from university. Silph's reputation still remained as good as ever, with its stature rising along with the rest of Kanto. Therefore, the brightest and most promising Pokemon trainers went to Silph Co to work part-time alongside their Pokemon exploits, where they earned a lucrative salary to finance their Pokemon career. The price of taking care of up to six Pokemon was increasing all the time, as raw materials like Carbos and Calcium dwindled in supply, causing their price to shoot up. Not to mention specific breeding arrangements to build for the future, making plans for their Pokemon career to continue after their first batch of Pokemon had grown old and feeble. Tobame felt envious and jealous of these people – as did most of the people of his age working in the company – but he knew that there was no way he could hope to match their level. The only way to increase his credentials was to get some recognition of being a Pokemon trainer, with the required skills to help the economy. While chances were technically open to the older generation, Tobame knew that there was no chance in hell that he could simply forsake his job, regardless of how little he was earning, and concentrate on a Pokemon career. Initially, to raise a Pokemon, a person needed to spend all his time available on it. When the Pokemon were mature enough to carry out pre-determined training regimes, the trainer could afford to take a break for half the day, where they would spend the time relaxing or at work.

Obviously, Tobame's savings were not even close to the required amount needed to start a Pokemon career. As he walked out of the lift, into the floor where his office – actually, more of a desk – was, Tobame felt a familiar sense of resentment at the Champion, despite his mind telling him that this was irrational. The Champion had, before his retirement after his third term had ended, caused several improvements to Kanto that were previously unknown to the nation. For one, he had set up a reliable education system that combined the two areas of Pokemon as well as academics seamlessly. Now children could start their education at the age of nine, where they went for four years of general schooling, which included normal subjects like language, mathematics and economics, as well as Pokemon lessons, both on theory as well as chances for practical learning. When they reached thirteen, they received survival courses as well as training on how to survive on their own in the Pokemon world, then were set free, left to their own devices for four years. While in theory, trainers could do ANYTHING during these four years, many of them went on an exploration of Kanto, returning to their hometown a few times to see their relatives. Those who were richer or more confident sometimes ventured out of Kanto to other countries, where wider varieties of Pokemon were available.

After they had turned seventeen, trainers were required to come back to a post-expedition finishing school, or university. There they received more formal education about general subjects, as well as taking part in Pokemon lessons and examinations with the Pokemon they had procured during their four-year adventure. After another four years of education, the students sat for both academic and Pokemon-based examinations – the latter was a battle against the city's Gym Leader – where they finally received certificates and records signed by the Gym Leaders. Those gave the students the qualifications required that allowed them to gain places in well-respected companies. Like Silph Co.

Also, the Champion had managed to mend relations with Johto and Hoenn, erasing the disastrous regime of the Gym Leaders. He had set Kanto's economy back on track again, as the country became more prosperous and the most developed country around. While Kanto was rich – in theory – before, most of the wealth was in the hands of the Gym Leaders. Now, again thanks to the Champion, the wealth was much more evenly distributed, and most families were well-off. _Except mine, of course. _The bitter voice of Tobame's soul spoke again, upset that he had fallen through the cracks of the welfare economic system.

The PokeStones were mended, and were now really a symbol of the city's population and growth. It was much like a state flag, and most people felt a sense of pride for their PokeStone. Ceremonies and celebrations were typically held in the open space around the PokeStone, which reinforced the national identity of Saffron and the other cities. Of course, the PokeStones still powered the city like they were supposed to. The Gym Leaders were now well-behaved, and ruled the cities in a kind and just manner. Sabrina was still the Gym Leader of Saffron, and her Psychic Pokemon were still formidable, but she usually held back against undergraduates, so trainers actually had a chance of passing their exams. Her marriage to one of the first trainers that had set forth under the new rule – and one of the best trainers Kanto had seen – had been just a few days before the Champion announced his retirement.

There was no denying that Kanto was now a much better place than it had been twelve years ago. Although the Champion had now been in retirement for two years, his successor – Sabrina's husband – had continued with much of the groundwork that he had laid out, and so the country was still progressing towards greatness. There was a blip during the Champion's fifth year where he seemed to have mysteriously disappeared, but he returned victorious, and garnered so much popular support that he was elected unanimously by the citizens for a third term. His own marriage followed, and everyone in Kanto wanted to attend his ceremony. In short, the Champion had been the main reason behind Kanto's revival, and most citizens of Kanto treated him like a hero. _So why is it so hard to feel the same way? Obvious answer really. I stay in a mud hut on the outskirts of Saffron, while the younger generation stay in their fancy houses and boss me around at work. The older generation – they have children that benefited from the system, or will soon benefit from the system. Even those who fail their exams in university can get a decent-paying job as a trainer's assistant, or PokeMart salesman. My age group is the sole group that has remained poor. Of course I don't feel happy._

Tobame reached his desk. He had been occupying the same desk for the last fifteen years. He was completely sick of seeing its grey plastic material, with the frayed blue chair pushed in. He never viewed workdays with joy – it was just sheer necessity that made him work. His work was completely mundane, after all – typing out the transcripts of the meetings the top dogs had. The company secretary would attend these meetings, handwrite down the important points, and vet it with a team of deputies. Only after the minutes were done and everyone was satisfied with it could it go down to the clerks – in other words, him. His job was then to decipher the secretary's handwriting, complete with all the cancellations and additions that had resulted from the secretary's vetting, and type it out. Needless to say, there was very little cheer to be gained from the job.

Actually, Tobame thought that the sole reason why he was even allowed to continue working in Kanto's biggest company was the fact that he was very neat and organised. He had a rare talent for finding the documents his boss needed in the shortest time possible, and could somehow decipher the seemingly random scrawls made by the company secretary. _What a great talent, Tobame. It'll allow you to go very far in this line of work. Oh wait, I think I've gone the furthest I can go using this talent already. Sigh._

Tobame sat down, then booted up his computer. At least his computer was the state-of-the-art model that all Silph employees owned, even those at the bottom of the food chain. Silph, after all, was now producing its own computers, attempting to break into the technology market, instead of just Pokemon products. However, its first year had ended in massive disappointment after consumers still preferred the smaller, but more established companies such as Apricot Inc. This meant that there was excess stock, which was promptly passed on to Silph's employees. However, regardless of how exciting the computer looked, and how smoothly it ran, it still failed to break the monotone of the job. Tobame had left work yesterday with the newest minutes almost finished. He aimed to finish the work before his lunch break today, where he could spend the afternoon more leisurely – answering calls for his boss and fetching relevant documents occasionally. Much better than poring over the incoherent blobs of ink that was supposed to be handwriting.

So Tobame put a lot of effort into the job. His brain turned the squiggles that would perplex any university graduate into meaningful words, and his fingers flew over the keyboard, using the free typing course Silph had conducted last year to full effect. At one hundred and twenty words a minute, the transcript of the meeting came to perfection slowly before his eyes. The minutes ticked by, but Tobame, for the moment, forgot his boredom and discontent, as he focused on finishing early so he could go off for an early lunch break, as well as enjoy the rest of the week off – before the next meeting was conducted, anyway. As he finished the last sentence (_"The Chief Executive Officer concluded that the possible acquisition of Apricot Inc. was a profitable financial venture, but more funding was needed for the attempt due to loss of money last year due to the failed foray into the computer market.")_ he gave a sigh of relief and satisfaction. At times like this, on a good day, he could almost feel a sense of pride in his work. Almost.

Then his boss approached his desk. Only twenty-two, his boss was fresh out of Kanto University – the first and best university in the whole of Kanto, and possibly even the world. Despite having no prior experience, he was immediately catapulted into the position directly above Tobame, and commanded a substantial income – more than triple Tobame's, anyway. That wasn't very much; probably average for a Kanto University graduate, but he was always eligible for promotions. Unlike Tobame, of course – he would probably stay in his position until he won the lottery or died. His boss wasn't particularly nasty to him, and didn't try to make things difficult – along with the no-discrimination rules the Champion had drawn up – but Tobame always felt resentful whenever he was ordered around by his boss.

"Finished, Tobame?"

His boss was usually aloof and confident, knowing what he wanted all of the time. Yet Tobame noticed a little self-doubt in his voice this time, as if he was about to do something he didn't want to do, or dreaded doing. Tobame's heart sank. Some part of him knew that it was bad news. On giving a positive reply, his boss checked through the finished document, nodded his head, and then gave him the thumbs-up.

"Good job as usual, Tobame. I know you want to go for an early lunch, but first, you need to read this letter."

The same sense of uneasiness grew stronger in Tobame, as he received the white, nondescript letter with trembling hands. Somehow, he knew it wasn't news of the promotion he had been waiting for. Opening the envelope, he took the letter out and unfolded it. It was short and to the point.

_Mr. Tobame,_

_Due to recent financial and technological developments, it is unfortunate that Silph Corporation is unable to support the amount of workers it has currently in its employ. Because of this, the company has decided to terminate your contract with immediate effect. You will receive three months' worth of pay as compensation. We apologise for the inconvenience. Thank you for contributing to Silph Corporation._

_Chief Executive Officer_

_Silph Corporation_

Tobame had finished the reading of the letter, but his eyes kept moving back to the top of the paper again, re-reading and re-reading. When he complained about being sick of his desk and chair, he didn't mean that he wanted to not see it for the rest of his life – not through this method, anyway. _Funny, isn't it? I complain about this job, and dread coming to work every day, but when I'm removed of this responsibility – forcefully – I want to continue my previous lifestyle._ _Oh wait, it's not going to be very funny when I starve on the streets._

"Very unfortunate, Tobame, but under the meritocracy system, the company has been forced to retrench certain staff who are dispensable. The company has invented new devices that allow the company secretary to write his words on a touch-sensitive pad, which automatically translates his handwriting into type-written text. And, as you probably know, the company is saving its funds to take over rivals Apricot. Inc, to take control of the computer market. Therefore… please clear your desk and vacate the premises by the end of today."

_The meritocracy policy. Another of the Champion's successful policies – in fact, it's now the cornerstone of the entire goddamn country. Makes perfect sense – no more getting employed through connections, or getting on someone's testicles so you can get some favours from the guy. It's again been put into place very well, and everyone is very happy with it. Including me, actually – until now._

Tobame clenched his fist and grit his teeth, as anger slowly consumed his disappointment and shock. He had been fired. Removed from his only duty, only income-making thing in life. All because of some technology improvements that had rendered his job obsolete. Obviously, regardless of how careful and organised he was, he could not hope to compete with a spanking new machine that automatically converted the secretary's squiggles into font within a fraction of a second. What made Tobame angry, taking off his tie and slamming it on the desk as he packed his belongings, was the knowledge that he was in this predicament not because of any fault or mistake of his. If he had gone to a proper school like everyone else, he would be able to get the needed qualifications to be sitting in a position higher than where his boss was now. But thanks to the reforms coming at a stupid time, he was doomed to a life of failure.

As Tobame strode out of the office for the last time, a cardboard box in his hand, heading for home, he had never felt so much hate for the Champion in his entire life. _To hell with his stupid policies – the policies that has caused me so much pain! To hell with the Champion himself, actually – and everyone else that treats him like God! And his wife, and his unborn child, and every goddamn person that is related to him! _

_Go to hell, Temperance. Go to hell._


	2. A Change of Employment

Tobame's Struggle – Chapter Two

Tobame's Struggle – Chapter Two

The walk back to the low-income zone of Saffron had never felt so long for Tobame. Usually, after the demanding day at work, he would just zone out, practically sleepwalking, as he walked the few kilometres to his house. Saffron had expanded much since Silph Co's founding – and the city shape now resembled some distorted circle. The middle-class families would stay on the outskirts of the city, being able to afford transportation methods like bicycles (now improved with anti-bump mechanics) and private carriages. Alternatively, they could just fly to work on Pokemon like Pidgeot or Fearow. For obvious reasons, trampling the city foundations on something like a Tentacruel or Rhydon was prohibited.

The rich, on the other hand, lived right next to the city centre, where rent rates (and property prices) were sky-high. The condominiums and landed property sprouting up next to the business district, where Silph Co, Apricot Inc. and other big companies had their headquarters, seemed to grow more luxurious by the day. Of course, their facilities still could not be compared to the Gym headquarters, where the Gym leaders resided during their private time, as well as Indigo Plateau itself, where the Champion used to live before his retirement. These places were symbols of the old regime and Constitution, and clearly the Champion's decision to spread the wealth did not extend to him as well as his Gym Leaders that made up his parliament. Obviously, Tobame knew that destroying the entire foundation of Indigo Plateau as well as the relevant Gyms just to show that the leaders of Kanto were dedicated to sharing the wealth was a ridiculous venture. For one, it would simply cost the country much more wealth that could be spent improving the country. Also, no one would begrudge the leaders of the country enjoying a little more luxury than the common people – as long as the citizens could see that improvements were being made.

So, that just left the area in between the rich residences and the government-built apartments of the middle-class – which was naturally where Tobame stayed. He had been looking forward to a change of scenery for a few decades now, but as the years went by, he had resigned himself to his fate. Now, his fate looked to be even bleaker. The high-tech metal rivets and aesthetically pleasing brick of the expensive constructions slowly failed, as Tobame walked past the skyscrapers that made up the business and shopping districts. In their place was mud and scrap wood. Tobame's house was a typical slum – but at least there were proper sanitation facilities. The government had thankfully installed the necessary equipment over the course of two years, in a bid to improve the appalling hygiene conditions in the slums. Tobame had to admit that the attempt was more or less successful. Life expectancy among the lower-income group had increased from sixty-two to seventy after the improvement.

Still, that didn't prevent Tobame from banging his fist on his dining table after he had entered - repeatedly. He pounded the table like a demented being, then flung his briefcase as well as his cardboard box of belongings across the room. Only after he saw the floor littered with the broken glass that had once made up his mug did he calm himself down, sweeping up the mess. Flushing the glass down the toilet, Tobame buried his head in his hands, trying to escape from the harshness and futility of the situation. But what could he do to change things? He was, after all, merely an uneducated worker with no prior experience in anything to do with Pokemon. His only strength lay in the area of organisation – his house was spotless and tidy – but if Silph had managed to get their hands on those cool machines that rendered his job obsolete, it would only be a matter of time before other companies did the same. Dead loss.

There had to be something in him that made him unique. If he didn't have the skills to shine, what about information? Anything he could use to get a job, or at least some money. Tobame called on the intellect he had to come up with a plan. He might not have had much schooling, but Tobame had always considered himself naturally gifted. And so it wasn't very long before he had come up with a decent idea – involving the information he had gotten from typing out the minutes. Of course, the entire scheme was illegal – he was obviously not supposed to reveal company secrets to outsiders, especially when the outsider in question was a major rival as well as the subject of a takeover bid. But Tobame was far past caring about such matters. His life was gone anyway, and in three months, he would be reduced to begging on the streets. Going to jail might not be so bad after all.

And so it was in this vein of thought that Tobame resolved to go to Apricot. Inc the next day to share his information about the plans of Silph Corporation. After all, what Silph was planning could not be considered very noble, even if its planned course of action was theoretically legal and legitimate. Tobame was confident that his insider information would be valuable in the eyes of Apricot, and he could then demand either a hefty one-off payment, or a stable job with significantly higher pay than what he was earning at Silph. Either way, he could then use the money to improve his qualifications – and the future would be bright. It was perhaps a simplistic and overly optimistic way of looking at things, but Tobame could hardly be blamed for this line of thinking. After all, the day's events had caused him to be rather disillusioned with life.

As Tobame pulled the tattered blankets over his body, he allowed himself one final curse at his predicament. But then his mind drifted off into sleep, and his mouth managed to curve upwards in a smile. There would be a way to salvage the situation – he would make sure of it – he would be successful, successful…

The alarm clock rang, signalling the transition to day. Usually, this would be when Tobame would be forced to wake up and get ready to work – eating a rushed breakfast consisting of a slice of bread, no more, then washing hurriedly under the relatively new shower. After that was done, he would change into his formal clothes – that had cost him three months' worth of savings – and rush off to work. Being late was not an option at Silph – if you were more than ten minutes' late, you were counted as being absent for the entire day. If you had a day of paid leave, then one day would be deducted. Someone in Tobame's position would have been entitled to one day of paid leave a month – a mere pittance, considering that he would have to work on Saturdays as well. Tobame usually didn't even take this day of leave, as he was forced to work overtime to earn enough. Hearing the annoying sound of the alarm, Tobame almost jumped out of bed and started preparing his breakfast, but he then remembered that he was free from the hellish routine that had characterised his life. He had to go for a little visit to Apricot today, but there was surely no hurry – the really big fish in the company were always arriving late anyway. Tobame slammed the alarm clock and turned it off. He could sleep in on a weekday for the first time in fifteen years – and he intended to enjoy it.

Two hours later, Tobame was finally up and ready to go. He had decided on buttering his bread today – a luxury previously restricted to Sundays – and had amazingly put on some hair gel, which he had given up years ago because of how much time it wasted – as well as its pointlessness. Who was he trying to impress, anyway? At work, it was the academic qualifications of the workers that were king, not some funky hairdo. As for the ladies… it was essentially the same thing. No one would ever go for him regardless of how good-looking he was – unless there was some enlightened soul out there that actually took into account effort. Otherwise, the qualifications and the wealth of the other young men were seen before they came into view. What was the point of even trying, when the extent of his attempts to look good came in the form of cheap hair gel?

But the hair gel was on today, and Tobame's hair now at least had some pattern and style to it, rather than having it flat down like some sort of nerd. Checking his briefcase for another time, Tobame confirmed that the latest copies of Silph's meeting transcripts were there, intact and in order. There were some revelations there that would make the board of Apricot very interested. Tobame had a plan, of sorts – reveal some teaser statements with the appropriate backing, get the board and the big shots interested, then make his financial demands. Simple enough – after all, if Apricot really decided to ignore him, they would cease to exist in a short amount of time. And so it was in good spirits that Tobame left his house in his standard outfit – he really didn't have the money to go for variety. A standard light blue collared shirt, paired with a red striped tie and black trousers. Thankfully, Silph had never needed him to wear a jacket – a good, lasting one would have probably cost nearly a month's salary.

Apricot was located a bit down the road from Silph. The building was neither as tall nor as majestic as Silph, but that was to be expected, considering the sizes of the two companies. There were only three wings – compared to Silph's five – and Tobame counted only twenty stories as he approached, unlike Silph's wings, which ranged from twenty-five to forty stories. Still, Tobame reminded himself that no matter how grand Silph looked, it didn't matter to him when one storey of one wing probably cost more than what he had earned from them in fifteen years. Apricot could probably at least pay him handsomely. The sense of confidence that had filled Tobame still had not dissipated, and he found himself almost skipping to a happy tune as he walked the final kilometre to the building. As he passed Silph, Tobame glared at the place that had stolen away the prime years of life, and rendered him a bent and beaten man after only thirty years. He would have his revenge on the company – for starters. Later he could think about the Champion.

He was there. Apricot Inc. loomed up in front of him, and Tobame steeled himself mentally for the speech he would have to give to make the people listen to him. He approached the sliding double doors, and felt the chill breeze of the air-conditioning as the glass parted to make way for him. The concrete of the pavement changed to carpet, as Tobame entered the lobby of the building. The receptionist's desk was in front of him, and several comfortable chairs were placed between the main door and the lifts to his right. Tobame took in the layout of the room briefly before making his way straight to the receptionist. Obviously, trying to go directly to the lifts would be a futile exercise – barring the magnetic lock at the switch, there was still the little matter of not knowing where the hell to go. However, even getting to the receptionist would be rather troublesome. The security guard, standing invisible behind a potted plant at the door, approached Tobame, intercepting his path halfway.

"Excuse me, sir, do you have an appointment?"

_Crap. This is unexpected. Obviously, I can't make an official appointment over the phone regarding such a sensitive matter, so I had to come to the company directly to engineer a discreet meeting. Yet I can't just waltz into Apricot and demand to see the Chairman or CEO without having something to show. Neither is showing the documents to this security guard an option – he's a no-ranker who probably won't understand the significance. What to do…_

"No, but I have something urgent to show whoever's in charge here." _Honesty the best policy? It's worth a try, at least. Hopefully this stupid security man will understand the importance of the situation and let me through. Hopefully – oh wait, is he laughing at me?_

"You have to be kidding, _sir._ Surely you do not expect me to just let in anyone carrying a briefcase, sporting some hairdo and claiming he wants to see the head of the company. You might easily be concealing an army of Electrodes inside that briefcase, for one thing. Barring that, do you really think Mrs. L has the time to see anyone who wants to see her? Get out, _sir, _and if you insist on barging your way through, I won't hesitate to call the full security and have you arrested."

_Goddamn! This piece of crap isn't only a no-ranker; he's also the stupidest person I've ever met. If he wants to be out of a job (like me) because he insists on following the book, so be it. Oh wait, it's not just "so be it", I need to get through._ _He's talking again, for some reason._

"Still not moving? I'll really call security – wait, here's Mrs. L herself to take care of you. She's headed your way – you have ten seconds to get your attention or the hundred-strong security force in the main wing of Apricot will be taking you into custody. Or you can just get out – the door's behind you."

Tobame didn't even consider the latter option. Instead he pushed past the thirty-something security guard that didn't even have anything to stop him save a walkie-talkie. Making a beeline for Mrs. L, whatever her real name was, Tobame opened his briefcase at the same time, and had the first document – the teaser – in his hand by the time he saw the head of Apricot's face. She looked rather familiar; even though Tobame was sure they hadn't met before. Still, Tobame didn't really notice – he had more important things to worry about.

Opening his mouth to speak, Tobame was well aware that this could well be a defining moment in his career. He just had to hope that he didn't screw it up.


	3. Lanaya

Tobame's Struggle – Chapter Three

The first thing Tobame noticed about the head of Apricot was how young she was. It was stupid of him really – after the last ten years of his life had been spent running around under the command of various bosses in their early twenties, why was he surprised that this person was about the same age? Still, it was at least uncommon for a person barely out of university to hold top spot in such a large company. The second thing he noticed about Mrs L was how pretty she was – her long dark hair hanging down, sleek and shiny to her back. A few strands of hair hung loose around her ears, rather adding to the effect – but of course, she was married already. Tobame quickly removed the impure thoughts from his mind, and focused on what he had come here to do. Right now, the goddamn security guard was coming up behind him, talking in his walkie-talkie. Not good.

Mrs. L was staring at him now, one eyebrow raised. Tobame checked his watch, and found that it was probably the lunch hour. It might have been an oversight on his part – arriving during a time where she would probably be busy or out – but it appeared that the bad decision had given him a lifeline. Flipping his document to the relevant page, Tobame started to talk – and he cut straight to the chase. The elaborate preliminaries that he had prepared were lost, as any delay would result in him being handcuffed by security before he could even begin to make his point.

"I'm a former employee of Silph Corporation. I have classified information here that proves that Silph is planning a surprise takeover of Apricot Incorporated." So saying, Tobame handed one of the documents over, showing clearly the share percentage owned by the major shareholders. A few of these names were highlighted, indicating the successful persuasion – or coercion – of these people to sell their shares to Silph. A quick mathematical count showed that Silph had already persuaded 39% of the shareholders to sell. Once Silph owned 51% of Apricot, they could move into formal takeover demands. Under Kanto law, whenever one single party owned a simple majority in a company, they could legally force the remaining shareholders to sell by paying 1.5 times the amount the shares were worth to the shareholders. Which meant that obviously Silph had a real possibility of taking full control – or if not, at least getting a sizeable foothold in their rivals. 39% meant that Silph would be already the biggest shareholder in the company – which meant that the rest would be under major pressure to sell, regardless of whether Silph did get the remaining 11% required to obtain a simple majority.

The document had the expected effect on the head of Apricot, as she signalled to the security guard to stop whatever he was doing, which was trying to give Tobame a knock on the head. Her eyes scanning the document, she came to the conclusion that the contents were only too real. Motioning for Tobame to follow, Mrs. L turned back to the lifts, cutting short her lunch break before it had even began. Tobame, following behind, gave a little smirk – his plan had succeeded so far, admittedly due to luck, but it had succeeded. The stupid security guard was now looking dumbfounded at the turn of events, having not overheard what Tobame had said. _The stupid piece of crap. I'm going up to earn more than what he's earned in his entire life._

Tobame was waiting for some conversation in the lift, but the woman at the other side of the glass box remained tight-lipped throughout. Tobame assumed that she was waiting for them to get into the office, where they had more privacy to discuss these confidential matters, and so relaxed, thinking of where he had seen her before. She certainly looked very familiar, but Tobame was sure that he hadn't known her personally – he would certainly remember. Someone famous – but if she was still famous, he would again have remember who she was, and if she was once famous, how could she be so young?

As he was still racking his brains in a bid to find out the answer, the lift doors slid open at the highest floor. Tobame had never even had a glimpse of the highest floor at Silph – unlike the janitorial head – and was now feeling thoroughly excited at this turn of events. The top floor was even more exquisite than the lobby had been, with wooden sculptures – rather than mass-produced paintings – adorning the walls. The paintings that WERE present could be easily seen to be one-of-a-kinds, and were artfully making the place much more high-class. After all, the top level was where the real money-makers did their work. Only the top directors and board members were granted offices here – and obviously, the woman Tobame was following now was the top board member.

The office was a similar story. It was the rough size of Tobame's entire house, and was rather more comfortable. The room seemed to be divided into two halves – one half for work, the other half for leisure. The "work" end of the room contained an ornate teak desk, with the typical odds and ends one would find at an office workspace; several bookshelves, with books of all colours and sizes arranged neatly and in order; and a television broadcasting a major news channel. Tobame was still taking in the 23-inch widescreen LCD monitor and impressive-looking CPU at the desk, as well as the 42-inch plasma TV, when he noticed the other half of the room. Its main purpose, apparently, was to give the occupant of the room a certain space to relax, to relieve stress, whatever. Passing over the several comfortable couches of different colours, Tobame saw another television – this one hooked up to Apricot's latest game console – as well as a pool table. One wall was made up entirely of glass, allowing people looking out to see one entire side of Saffron.

A little awed by the situation, Tobame was momentarily frozen at the view outside, before slowly dragging his feet to the desk, where he sat down. Mrs. L was already on the other side, and was now examining his document presented earlier in more detail. The examination confirmed her earlier analysis to be accurate – Silph had, if the official document was to be believed, indeed bought over 39% of the company's shareholders. There was a distinct possibility that more shares could be procured, until Silph could launch a formal takeover bid. Apricot knew very well that they had managed to hold a sizeable advantage over Silph in their niche areas – computers and gaming consoles. They had captured 74% of the gaming market last year, with the rival Silph console only getting 52% of the market. As for computers… Silph's foray into that department had led to an epic failure. The lack of publicity compared with lower user-friendliness had led to the vast majority of consumers preferring the Apricot model.

Therefore, Silph Co, not content with their monopoly of the Pokemon goods market, had planned a surprise takeover of Apricot – to remove the competition once and for all. Mrs. L was confident that Silph couldn't get an overall majority of the shares – she herself was the biggest single shareholder, holding 25% of the shares, while the next major shareholders were all loyal to Apricot. Silph had managed to get to this point through the smaller shareholders, all of which owned less than 8% of the total amount. However, Silph being the major shareholder once the transactions were complete was an enormous danger to the company. With most of the financial power in their hands, they could demand concessions from Apricot using this bargaining chip. Alternatively, they could offer their newly bought shares back to the company, in return for some promises – such as pulling out of the computer market, for example. It was a really horrible prospect, and Mrs. L had no intention of allowing that to happen.

Turning her attention to the man now sitting opposite her, a glazed expression on his face as he stared out of the windows and at the equipment around the office, Mrs. L realised that the arrival of this document presented new problems to the company. This person was obviously some disgruntled employee that had managed to get his hands on some confidential documents from Silph. This meant that he was engaging in illegal activity to hand Silph their biggest loss of their career. This also meant that he would be demanding a big payoff to firstly show her the remaining documents, and secondly to keep silent about the matter.

Mrs. L was not unduly worried about the payoff – the company would incur far greater losses if she allowed the takeover to go through – but she WAS worried that this idiot would just go and blab even after the payment. The fact that he was trying to make such a deal only showed what sort of person he was. Still, whether she turned him down or not, he might still spill the secret, and then their company would go under investigation for stock market fraud. Not a good end to a glorious ten-year history.

And so it was with a sense of resignation that the chairman of Apricot Incorporated started talking. The company was already halfway into the quagmire, and whether it folded because it was bought over or because it was shut down by the government was… immaterial… in the larger sense of things. "I'm Mrs. Lanaya, head of Apricot Incorporated. I understand that you are giving us some information that might well save our company. Before you make your demands, I have some questions for you.

"Firstly, I want to know your position in Silph that allows you to get this privileged information. And this leads me to the next point – if you are of such a position, why did you resign and come to us? You must be earning a lot – and if you were fired, it's surely an anomaly – from what I know, Silph usually doesn't fire their higher employees unless they did something really, really wrong."

Tobame almost laughed. Obviously, Apricot had a different way of doing things, having no equivalent for his position. This was bad news, in a way – it as good as ruled out any point of him asking for a job. Still, a one-time payoff would be decent. Tobame explained his previous position and situation, clarifying minor details on request of Lanaya. Once she was satisfied that in such a position, Tobame would have been able to obtain these documents, Lanaya continued.

"Very well, so I am guessing that you have volunteered this information to Apricot not because of the infinite goodness residing in your heart. You are here because you want something in return. How much are you asking for?" Lanaya cut straight to the chase. She suspected that the remaining documents probably contained more detailed information on each specific shareholder and how much Silph was paying them on top of the basic share price. It would also reveal possible future strategies on how to acquire Apricot – and this information would be invaluable to her. Thus she was willing to take the risk and turn to Tobame for help.

"Actually, what I would prefer is getting a stable job in your company. Apparently, you don't have a position that is similar to what I was doing over at Silph, and I don't have the qualifications to do something more advanced, but I would much rather prefer a constant salary rather than a one-time payment." Lanaya looked up, impressed. Apparently this person was not just a money-faced fickle-minded idiot, but rather someone really trying to salvage his career. She considered – he had brought his resume, of sorts, along – and she now looked through it more carefully. His qualifications were certainly nothing impressive, but if his testimonial about neatness and typing skill were to be taken as truth, Apricot could probably give him a desk job. He would probably want more pay than someone else working in the same position, but Lanaya had been prepared to pay much more as a one-time payment.

And so, after a certain amount of negotiations, much of which was dreary and mere formalities, Tobame found himself an employee of Apricot Incorporated. His job was quite different from what he was used to at Silph, as Apricot used tape recorders to record voice clips of meeting before the secretary listened to it and wrote the minutes at his leisure, but his skills would come in handy. He now had to go through inventories of goods, checking them off and then writing a report on the week's stock, including possible damages and losses incurred. It was a more hands-on job, which partially relieved the boredom, but what was more interesting to Tobame was the salary – he was now earning twice what his pay was at Silph.

As Tobame handed the remaining documents over, which indeed contained what Lanaya had suspected they would contain, shook hands with her, and walked back to the lift and down to the lobby, he still couldn't get her face out of his head. He most certainly hadn't heard of anyone named Lanaya before… but her face was still vivid in his mind. Brushing it aside, he headed for home, where he resolved to get a good rest before his first day of work tomorrow. As he walked, he started to daydream of his house looking like that office, and his dreams carried him the rest of the way home.

_The gears of a big economic and political game were starting to turn._


	4. Apricot: Day One

Tobame's Struggle – Chapter Four

Tobame woke up bright and early the next day – but still forty-five minutes later than what he would have done as a Silph employee. It was another perk of the new job – better working hours. And the best thing was that if he had finished his assigned work for the day, he was free to go – no more sitting around in a dazed stupor with nothing to do. Any extra work done counted as overtime, with extra pay awarded accordingly. What an improvement – Tobame felt that his luck was really starting to turn. Deciding to forgo the gel today, Tobame wore his unwanted trademark outfit and left. He felt fantastic, even as he watched the Pelippers and Pidgeots speed past overhead. Usually, he would have felt an acute sense of jealousy as the Pokemon overtook his walking pace, but he was in a good mood – for the first time in years – today. In fact, he was in a spending mood.

Ignoring the hole in his pocket, Tobame fished out his wallet and checked that he had enough money to make a decent-sized purchase for his own amusement. It probably meant that he would have to skip either lunch or dinner for the rest of the week, but there was this strange sense of euphoria spreading through his body, one that impeded his logical thought. Taking a short detour to the commercial district, Tobame decided to go shopping. Not at the big shopping mall though – no matter how deluded he was, he was keenly aware that nothing inside was within his spending range. Wistfully gazing at the humongous Alakazam that was perched on top of one mall as part of the architecture, Tobame turned aside and entered the street market.

The street market was a more modest area of the commercial district, catered to those on a tighter budget. Prices were reasonable, due to the lack of branding – the main culprit behind the stupid prices in the official high-class shopping malls. The quality was of course inferior, but due to constant inspection and strict anti-con rules, the products were solid, and weren't just held together with spit and prayers. Tobame ventured here sometimes on Sundays, although the crowd usually turned him off – besides, on the days that he did come, he usually returned home empty-handed. Today, the market was less crowded, as most people were either going to work or still in bed, and thus Tobame was able to examine the just-opened stalls in relative peace. He checked a wall clock for the time – he was early, and he had no less than 15 minutes here to make a quick purchase and get to his first work day at his new company.

The stalls were simple affairs – much like a thieves' market actually, although of course the goods here were all legitimate, merely sold through official channels and passed down the grapevine. Reportedly, the goods unable to be sold at the high-class shopping malls were sold to the street vendors. This suited Tobame just fine. He was looking for something practical and required at the same time – no fancy ornaments that were just meant to be hung round a neck, or something that he already had, no matter how old and worn it was. Something like a pair of glasses, which he sort of needed due to a very slight myopia condition; or a proper belt to replace the piece of cloth that was serving to keep his pants from falling down, or a nice watch. Oh yes, a watch would serve his needs well – he was tired of looking at wall clocks all the time. It was reasonably stylish as well, giving him a better image for his new job.

Decision made, Tobame ventured to the stalls where watches were sold. The watches on sale were mostly small affairs with leather straps and metal frames – the new fashion now, as ridiculous as Tobame found it, was big and clunky gold watches that seemed to occupy half the wearer's wrist. The watches weren't even good for telling the time, but of course if you could afford such a watch, you probably had a nice new handphone in a pocket to tell the time with. Tobame wanted a handphone – in fact, it was probably his first-choice object that he wanted to possess – but good handphones were ridiculously expensive. With his new pay, though, it might be accessible in perhaps six months' time. Banishing thoughts of handphones, Tobame re-examined the watches on sale. The children's watches came with Pokemon all over the strap, but the more mature pieces had an unobtrusive design with only the latch discreetly shaped like a Pokemon. Tobame took this design into consideration when making his choice. His knowledge of Pokemon was next to nil, but he had always admired the awe-inspiring legendary dragons. He picked out a nice design – with a Rayquaza adorning the metal battery case – and was about to buy it, when another watch caught his eye.

On first glance, the watch was completely bare, but if one turned it this way and that so it caught the light, several hearts were found scattered all over the watch's material. However, what caught Tobame's eye was the fact that the watch was made completely out of metal – and to an untrained eye, the watch even appeared gold-plated. True, it was more of the slim, simple design that was popular five years ago, but still; it looked much classier than the leather models that were elsewhere. Tobame looked anxiously for the price – he feared that this model would be much more expensive than the others, but his fears proved unfounded, as the price was as affordable as ever. Surprised but relieved, Tobame put it on, checked one last time that the hearts were invisible to the casual observer, and made the purchase. Actually, the watch was more of a ladies' model, but it wasn't that obvious, and Tobame had no time to examine it more closely. A glance at the new watch showed that he had overshot his allocated time and now had barely five minutes to get to Apricot before he was officially late for his first day at work. Not a great way to make a first impression.

But there was to be no worry, as Tobame managed to reach his company on time. He had been told to go straight to Lanaya's office for initial briefings. He supposed that most new employees did not get an audience with the chairman, but he was not "most" new employees. The security guard was much more cordial when speaking to him, causing Tobame to find it hard to keep the glee and condescension out of his voice when replying the greeting. He promptly got a temporary access card to the top floor from the receptionist, who was aware of his arrival, and took the bubble lift up to the chairman's office. Facing the glass and the view outside the entire time, Tobame was surprised by the sound informing him that the lift had reached its destination floor – but he was even more surprised that Lanaya herself was waiting for him at the lift lobby. Head down, he almost didn't see her at first, which led to him almost colliding into a body, forcing him to reach out a hand to steady himself at the last moment. Lanaya appeared unconcerned by his total embarrassment, just standing there, one eyebrow raised, as she motioned towards her office.

_So much for being stylish. I would do better to avoid banging into people instead of buying some watch with money that could have been better spent repairing my main door. Who am I trying to impress, anyway? She doesn't seem very concerned, though – which is to be expected, I'm just a piece of business to her. If I go around banging into the stocks of goods at work I can expect to be fired within two weeks, insider information or not._

The familiar office greeted Tobame's eyes as Lanaya held open the door for him – _shouldn't it be the other way round?_ Before he had time to contemplate this notion further, he was through the door, and the door was shut behind him. _Here we go – time to find out what this company is all about._

"Mr. Tobame, welcome to Apricot Incorporated. You will be starting work today, and your headquarters is at the west wing, eighth floor. Your on-site work will take place one floor above your office – sorry for the inconvenience, but the company is planning an extra wing and some reshuffling is going on. You will be provided with ample amounts of paper, stationary, as well as a company clipboard. Those are the only things essential to your stock-taking job. At your desk, you will be provided with an Apricot computer, in addition to communal photocopying and fax machines." _Fair enough – this is all expected, nothing different from Silph. Perhaps conditions are slightly better._

"Also, all company employees must own one of this." Lanaya reached below her desk, and then slid a slim leather pouch over. As Tobame opened the pouch and slid the Apricot mobile phone out, Lanaya was already talking. "Since you are a low-end employee, you will only receive a low-end mobile phone, but it should be sufficient for your daily needs. The phone is hotwired to the company so you can reach whoever you need to reach without any trouble. You are expected to have the phone on and be contactable at all times. If you lose the phone… well, you can either pay us back the money or… basically, don't lose the phone."

Tobame examined the smooth metallic slider. The Apricot logo was etched on the top of the mobile, and the phone felt perfectly weighted in his hands. There was no camera, even though Apricot's leadership in the mobile phone market was mainly due to the superb quality of their camera phones as well as the ability to attach Pokemon frames and clipart to the photographs taken. However, the mobile was perfectly weighted in his hands, and was made of very sturdy chromium. Even to his untrained and inexperienced eye, he could tell that the mobile was built to last, and would no doubt serve him until a promotion occurred. Tobame wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Now, I know you think you are special. And I'm not denying that you are special – your pay is significantly higher than other people in your position. But I do not want you to throw your weight around at work and pretend you are superior – you have been given this chance because of certain information I cannot risk you divulging to outsiders. If you are unhappy that I am speaking to you like this, I think I'll risk you blabbing – you clearly will not be satisfied, and if Apricot is going to go down I'd rather it go down with a proper and honest fight with Silph rather than paying off some rat trying to stick his fingers into both pies. I do apologise if I sound harsh, but I'd thought I'd get that straight from the beginning. If you want to leave, the door is that way. Or, if you want to negotiate, get it over with now." With that said, Lanaya stared at Tobame, waiting for his reply.

Tobame had been happy with the terms set for him prior to this little speech, and the gift of a new mobile phone – a luxury he had never expected to own – had improved his mood further, but now the temptation of better terms was severely affecting his judgment. For an instant, he wanted to ask for improvements in salary, better hours, even a better mobile, everything – but then he reconsidered. If he wanted to improve his status, he could do so slowly via information to Lanaya. He would no doubt be required to frequently make trips to the top floor to explain the situation and protocol at Silph. And if he did a good job in this department, then added in a possible well-done "regular" job, he could really improve his terms in a legitimate way. He was sore and jealous, but he wanted to prove his worth by himself without jumping through that many hoops.

"I'm fine."

With those two words, Tobame had basically made a major career choice. He would be a normal Apricot employee, albeit one that frequently made trips to the chairman's office. Lanaya nodded at his decision, seemed pleased, then continued.

"Now, because you are earning a higher pay than your peers – in fact, the pay is comparable to your direct superiors – I need to justify this price. The official reason is because Apricot is trying to break into the Pokemon market, and so a former Silph employee can provide a lot of technical experience. This reason is also partly true. When you are free, you have to help the company think of ways to break into the Pokemon goods market. Silph Corporation, as you no doubt already know, has completely eaten the market. There isn't a Potion or Poke Ball for sale in any PokeMart without Silph's logo attached to it. What we need to do is diversify this market so people can see that Apricot provides a viable alternative to Silph's products. This of course isn't as pressing as the takeover – if Apricot folds it doesn't matter how many promising projects we have in the pipeline."

Lanaya paused, and Tobame noticed that her eyes had turned to his new watch for the first time. He was pleased for a while – this was why he had bought the watch, after all – but then the silence stretched for longer than normal, and Tobame felt a little confused. Was the watch some complete social _faux pas_ that he had had unwittingly committed? But Lanaya was talking again, although her voice was now lacking the timbre of a confident chairman and even seemed a little shaky – Tobame was by now rather confused, not to mention worried. What had he done that had provoked such a reaction?

"Apologies. So, do maintain an innovative façade at work, I wouldn't want mass protests from your co-workers. Off you go – I will certainly call you back up here by the end of the week."

Tobame made the necessary goodbyes and exited unattended. He took a lift down to the link bridge and walked to the west wing, but on the way he took out his watch, curious. The watch clearly had a history, but why it was bothering Apricot's chairman he could not even begin to fathom. Tobame let it hang, and then dismissed the thought. It wasn't his place to try and understand previous heartbreaks of other people – maybe he would prefer to get a girlfriend before he even tried to understand any of this complicated nonsense. He had a mobile phone that was in his opinion, more interesting. Besides, he had a job to do, and by golly, he was going to do it right.


End file.
